I was very flattered to be asked to contribute to this forthcoming book edited by Jane Secker and Emma Coonan as I’m in very august company with Geoff Walton, Susie Andretta, Libby Tilley and many more. My chapter, the draft of which I’ve just finished today (hurray!) focuses on academic literacy and describes some of the Information for Learning work we’ve been doing here at Newcastle. The book is due to be published by Facet in June and here is their publicity:

” A vision for the future of information literacy teaching. Based on groundbreaking research, undertaken by the authors as part of the prestigious Arcadia Programme at Cambridge University, this presents a new and dynamic information literacy curriculum developed for the 21st century information professional. The curriculum adopts a broad definition of information literacy that encompasses social as well as academic environments and situates information literacy as a fundamental attribute of the discerning scholar and the informed citizen. It seeks to address in a modular, flexible and holistic way the developing information needs of students entering higher education over the next five years. Interweaving the authors’ research and the reflections of internationally-recognised experts from the library, education and information literacy sectors, it will illustrate how and why this new curriculum will work in practice”

Over the last year, I’ve been working with colleagues in Vitae and RIN to put together a new booklet in the Vitae researcher series. The Informed Researcher is now available on the Vitae website and will be available in printed form from Vitae in the next few weeks. We were hoping to have it available for distrbution at LILAC, but sadly just missed getting it there in time.

The booklet aims to be a practical tips guide for researchers, linking together elements from the Researcher Development Framework with the SCONUL Seven Pillars model in an accessible way and I hope it will be a useful tool in researcher training programmes.

Another exciting addition to the resources which are building around the Seven Pillars:

Vitae have been working with RIN, SCONUL and members of the Working Group on Information-Handling to develop a lens on the Vitae Researcher Development Framework and the SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy. This lens is now available for consultation and we would welcome your feedback on this. You can find it here. Jonathan Roberts, who has been developing the lens, would particularly welcome comments on:

Wealth creation in action!

The Wealth Creation InfoCentre in Ngee Ann Library aims to develop students

Nanyang Polytechnic Library (NYP) has a lot of different technological developments, all listed on their website but to see most of them working you need to be a member of NYP. I liked their Library on the go app for mobile library services. Using iFind, it’s also possible for students to get a text message to tell them the location of a book and there’s a neat interactive information booklet too.

Daniel Wee and Rosidah Awang are the staff specifically responsible for links with NUIS staff and students. Here they are next to the Food Science section of the library

3D map

The other polytechnic in Singapore which hosts Newcastle students is Nanyang and I visited the Library there on Thursday. It has a similar size book stock to Ngee Ann, about 200k, but a smaller floor area.

I was very impressed with their 3D interactive guide. It displays on a large touch screen in the library entrance. Students can search for a book in the catalogue, click on Guide me and are shown a route from the screen to the bookshelf.

It’s very clever and easy to use.

Bubble tea cafe

The whole of the entrance level of the Lien Ying Chow Library is devoted to the Lifestyle Library. This concept is aimed specifically at attracting students into the building and encouraging them to read. The exhibition area, which can be easily seen from a busy walkway, can be used by any of the Schools and is a popular way of bringing the Poly activities into the Library. There’s even a small 12 seat theatre, which shows sports channels. The collections on this level are not academic materials but more like a public library, with books on hobbies, current fiction and a range of general interests. There’s an impressive collection of audio and DVDs to support film and media (and current feature films) and lots of spaces to use the resources individually or in groups. The cafe is also located on this level (I wish I’d been able to try the bubble tea!), close to the newspapers, comic and graphic novels sections.

Natalie in the board games room

I was fascinated by the board games room in Lien Ying Chow Library. There I met Natalie, a business student who is paid to staff the room. She is also part of an enterprise project in the Business School and was successful in being allowed to start an “enterprise” tuck shop in the room. Proceeds allow her team to go out for occasional evening meals as a team bonding exercise.
Board games are popular in Singapore and it seems many students enjoy playing them in gaps between lectures. The room holds most common board games, such as monopoly, cluedo etc and is apparently very busy in term time.

Bee Ang and Rashna in the exhibition space

Today I visited the Lien Ying Chow Library. It’s very different from Newcastle, partly because most of the students are younger, so one of their main concerns is attracting students into the library and encouraging them to read around their subject. The education system in Singapore doesn’t seem to prepare students for the kind of independent learning that we are accustomed to in the UK. Students rely on their notes and on specific text books and don’t have a habit of critical reading or questioning. Usually they buy the key textbook and work to that. They are therefore much less likely to visit the library for extra academic texts. This means the library rarely needs to obtain many multiple copies and this is one area which they have needed to address (very succesfully) for the NUIS students, who are expected to read more widely.